The Maine Event
by BabeGirl
Summary: Joe finds out about Steph and Ranger. She goes to maine with Lester to figure out her life. What will Ranger think and do? What will Steph do when she gets home?
1. Chapter 1

I walked out of the police station, body receipt in hand, proud that I had caught my skip and could once again buy groceries. I looked up and saw Joe leaning against my POS car. It was a beat up Chevy Roadster, and I hated it, but it was cheap and available after my last car went to the great garage in the sky. I walked up to Joe, and since we were currently in our on-again phase and had been for several weeks, gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Hey Joe. What's up?"

"Steph, I think we need to talk." He had a smile on his face, but it was grim and his gaze was cold.

"Alright" I replied, suddenly wary and on edge. "But I have to meet Ranger soon to discuss the details of a job he needs help with, so I don't have long." As soon as the words tumbled out of my mouth, I knew that Joe would freak out, and I braced myself for it. But it didn't happen. He just stood there, looking at me with his unreadable cop face in place.

"Stephanie, that is what I need to talk to you about." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope. He silently handed it to me and looked at me while I opened it. Inside were pictures, four in all. I instantly recognized what they were, and my heart plummeted. They were photos of Ranger and me, at various points of our apparently-not-so-stealthy kisses in the alley by the bond office. One of the two of us mid-kiss, my hands fisted into his shirt. The two of us standing too close, foreheads touching, me looking at him with what can only be called love. I took a moment to absorb what I was seeing before I spoke again.

"Where did you get these?" I asked, not able to look Joe in the eye.

"I took them. I was at the bonds office about a week ago, waiting to take you to lunch, when I saw you go into the alley with…with _him._ I had my camera on me and I took these. Care to explain yourself?" He looked at me, and his cop face was gone. In its place were emotions, sadness and hurt that were so strong, I could feel it radiating off of him. I still couldn't look him in the eye, so I stared over his shoulder at the traffic that was whizzing past.

"I… It's just that…Well, you see…Joe, I can't do this now. I have to go to work. Then I have to meet Lula at the mall, and I have to go to my parent's house for dinner." I turned to walk away. Joe called to me when I was halfway around the car.

"When did you choose him Steph? When did I lose?" I didn't have an answer for him, so I just got in my car and drove.

A tap on my window startled me out of my daze. I looked over to see Lester standing outside my car, looking concerned. I was sitting in the parking garage at Haywood, like I had been for almost an hour. I opened the door, stepped out and tripped on the bottom of the car. I went flying, but Lester caught me before I hit the floor. "You okay Bombshell? You've been sitting out here for the last forty-five minutes and the boss is getting impatient. I thought that I would check on you before he dragged you inside against your will."

I don't know where it came from, but I was instantly sobbing. Lester looked startled for minute before he wrapped his arms around me and let me sob into his shirt. He rubbed by back and started humming a tune that I didn't recognize, but it calmed me enough to allow me to talk again. Once I started talking, the whole story came pouring out. Everything from when I brought Morelli in as my first skip, to the night I had with Ranger, right up to today's fight. "Joe knows about me and Ranger. He has pictures of us behind the bonds office. I know that it is my fault and that I should have told Ranger to stop the kisses as soon as Joe and I got back together, but I couldn't. I don't know why I couldn't, but I just…I think I love him Les. But I love Joe too." I thought for a moment. "I am so going to Hell for this!"

Lester laughed. "Stephanie, look at me." When I didn't he gently turned my face to look at him. "You aren't going to Hell. You are just confused. I think that you have too much going on in your mind to make heads or tails of any of this. You need to get away and think. To sort everything out."

"I can't go anywhere without Ranger finding me and bringing me back. I know that he is just watching out for me, but he won't let me go anywhere without a body guard." I sniffled and looked back at the ground.

"Then I'll go with you."

"WHAT?"

"I have about six weeks of vacation saved up, and I could use the break too. I have a house in Maine that my Papa left me. We could go and I could help you sort everything out. I mean, if you want me too. Or you could go alone if that is what you want, but you could still use the house." I looked up at Lester, and threw my arms around his neck. Doing that lifted my about six inches off the ground, but I didn't care.

"Lester, you are amazing! I would love for you to come with me. I need the moral support. Omigawd! When can we leave?"

"Well, we have this job to finish, but after that is over we can go. I think Saturday is the soonest we could go."

It was Thursday now. Only two days to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Lester and I walked off the elevator on the fifth floor, laughing and planning our vacation. I was doubled over in laughter at something Lester had said, tears streaming down my face, barely able to breathe. I sobered up immediately when I heard that one word.

"Babe." I looked into Rangers eyes, and I saw raw emotion there. Concern and worry, both of which shocked me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" His eyes cut to Lester. "Alone. Santos, I believe you are supposed to be in the control room right now." Lester nodded and started to walk away, but stopped behind Ranger and made a face. It took all my self-control not to burst out laughing. "Santos." Rangers tone was cold at best, and Lester scurried away.

Ranger led me into his office, closed the door and pulled me into his arms. No kiss, no innuendo, he just settled his head on top of mine and sighed. His embrace startled me, but my body instinctively melted into him. "Ranger, are you alright? You are being kinda weird."

"Babe, you were not only unexplainably late to a meeting, but you sat in my parking garage for almost an hour staring at the wall. So either someone died and you didn't tell me, or you are mad at me. If it is the latter, I wanted to hold you again before you wouldn't talk to me." I stared at him in shocked silence. It was the most information I think Ranger had ever volunteered to me without my pestering questions. That and the fact that for once, he was no where near close to the real reason for my wall-staring. His ESP must be on the fritz.

I smiled at him. "Well, and it is weird for me to say this, but you are way off base. No one died, and I am not mad at you. I am actually taking some time away to think about, well about a lot of things." I knew what was coming next, because even though the Scrog incident was way in the past, Ranger didn't like me going anywhere alone, so I pressed a finger to his lips to silence his protests. "To thwart your next complaint, I am going with Lester, so I have a body guard that you will approve of."

Ranger gently took the hand that was silencing him, entwined our fingers and pressed me against the door. His kiss was gentle and sensual, and when he pulled away several moments later, he looked so deep into my eyes that I thought he was looking at my soul. He seemed to be searching for something, and once he found whatever it was, he smiled and pulled away.

"Babe, it looks like you have your mind made up about this, so I am not going to argue about it." Well, that was a first. "But I do have some requests. Have a seat and we'll talk." I was still amazed that he didn't question my motives, so I didn't push my luck and I sat down. I was in one of the visitor chairs and Ranger, still holding my hand, sat in the other. It was uncomfortable for me to have my arm stretched like this, so I sighed, got up again and settled myself in Ranger's lap. I figured that since Joe and I were likely over for good, this was fine.

"Okay, talk." He wrapped his arms around me and sighed. It was odd, because he seemed content to just hold me, but he was the one that told me his life didn't lend itself to relationships.

"Babe, I know that you are going with Santos, but I still don't like the fact that you aren't taking another guard." I started to protest, but Ranger silenced me with a gentle squeeze around my waist. "But, I'm not going to force another one on you. As long as you call me every day to check in. If you miss even one day, I am sending someone to come and get you. And I want to be the first one you talk to when you get back about what you decide."

"Ranger, everyday is a little extreme, so I am going to counteroffer." He looked shocked at my boldness, and I must admit that I was too, but I was feeling confident, so I forged ahead. "I accept your offer to talk to you first, because I probably would have anyway. But, I am only going to check in every couple of days, and it is going to be at my discretion. If you make Lester check in every day, well that's fine cuz you pay him, but I need to have some space here. I am going to think, so my calling you everyday would be counterproductive. Also, I need someone to watch Rex, and since I don't want to tell my mom I am leaving until I am gone, and Joe and I are…..I don't know what, you are the only one I trust with my baby. So that is the deal, take it or….well I don't care, I am going whether you accept it or not."

Ranger thought about it for a moment before he answered. "Okay Babe. I guess I don't have many options here, because I want you to not do anything dangerous while you aren't here. When are you leaving?"

"Saturday. We didn't want to cop out on the job tonight, and Lester said that it was best if we finished out the work week before we left. We aren't sure when we are getting back, but we are both taking six weeks off, so it won't be longer than that."

"Babe, I am going to miss you." We sat like that for a while, each lost in our own thoughts.

"Ranger, can I ask you something?" He looked at me, so I took that as an invitation to continue. "Why are you going to miss me? It isn't like we are, you know, together in a … couple sense of the word. I mean I am going to miss you, but probably for a different reason then you will miss me."

"Steph, I will explain it to you when you get back. Now come on, we have a job to get ready for. We don't have much time, so I had Ella buy you an outfit. It's upstairs in my apartment." He stood up, still not releasing my hand, and pulled me out of the office into the elevator.

I walked out of Rangers closet, shocked at what I was wearing. The shirt was fire engine red and cut half-way down my torso, exposing more flesh then my mother would approve of, or even think about. The skirt was black and satin and it sat two inches below my butt. If I turned around to fast…well, let's just say it wouldn't be good. To top it all off, the shoes were black, with ribbons that tied half way up my calf, and a four inch heel. I had teased my hair to maximum volume and gunked my eyes up with a lot of black eyeliner and mascara. I wasn't exactly pleased with the result, thinking it made me look like trash. "Ranger! Get in here!" Ranger wandered into the room, knotting a tie around his neck. We both took a moment to size each other up.

My jaw almost hit the floor. Ranger was wearing black slacks that fit him like a glove. They molded to his backside and showed some of the muscles of his legs. The shirt was black and satin, falling across his chest like water over rocks. The tie was red to match my shirt, and set off the color of his skin. When I got my voice back, I didn't have too much of a coherent thought. "Uh…um, well…"

Laughter touched his eyes. "Babe, you just looked at me like I was lunch. What did you want to ask me?"

I gave him my best burg glare and brought my mind back to what I wanted. "Well, look at what I am wearing. How is this appropriate at all?"

"What can I say; the perp likes legs and cleavage. We have to head out now, so I'll meet you in the Porsche. Don't take too long." With that he walked out into the other room.

_Sorry that Lester isn't really in this chapter, but I needed to clear this up before the real story….more soon…Thanks for the Reviews everyone! You rock!_


	3. Chapter 3

Ranger and I walked into the club, arm in arm, as per the plan. He had briefed me in the car, and I must admit that the plan sounded good. We were supposed to be out on a date, and after a few dances, he would start to get fresh with me and I would yell and scream then storm over to the bar. Our , well Ranger's, skip, William Prentice, would be there and I would ask him to drive me home since I had no ride. The rest should be simple.

"Ready Babe?" Ranger whispered in my ear, his breath fanning across my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

"More then you will ever know." The words left my mouth before I could even think about them, and I felt Ranger freeze beside me.

"Playing with fire Babe. Playing with fire." We reached the dance floor and he spun me into his arms. We were plastered together, swaying to the music and I was once again feeling bold. I reached up and grabbed the leather band that was holding his hair back and pulled it out. Ranger's hair fell around his shoulders and I ran my fingers through it. God, I loved his hair. The smell of Bulgari washed over me, and knees went weak. Ranger gazed down into my eyes and for a minute, it was like we no one else was there and we were really a couple. Phew, he just gave me something else to think about.

Ranger looked up first. "Babe, our guy is here. Games on." The music had picked up and we started to dance a little faster. He spun me around a few times, and when he pulled me back o him, he winked at me and but his hand on my butt. He ran his other hand through my hair and I started to push him away. He held on tighter and I smacked him.

"Stop it! I am not going to stand here and be…manhandled by you. Just leave me alone!" I was screaming at this point and Ranger stormed out of the club. I huffed over to the bar, stood beside Prentice and ordered a tequila shooter. I drank it straight, no salt, no lime, and felt braver for it.

Prentice looked over at me. "I couldn't help but to over hear your little…argument back there. I hope I am not overstepping my bounds, but are you alright? It sounded really bad."

"I'm fine. I always seem to end up dating the jerks who try to get some on the first date."

"Doesn't that always happen to the nice girls? You deserve better than that."

"Thanks. I just really want to get home, but I don't have a ride. I know I just met you, but could you drive me home? I just have to get out of here."

"Ya, sure. Let's go." With that, we got up and walked out of the club. Bobby and Tank were waiting there to pick him up. Ranger stepped out of the shadows and slung his arm around me. "Proud of you Babe. How about I drive you home now."

I woke up the next morning and looked at the clock. 9:30 in the morning. Why was I not at work? I thought for a moment before I remembered that I took the day off to pack. I was leaving tomorrow. I figured that since I wasn't going to the office at all today, or any day in the near future, it would be a good idea to call Connie and Lula. I rolled over and felt around for my phone, instead finding a single red rose. There was a card attached to it. I climbed out of bed, grabbed both the flower and the card, and wandered into the kitchen.

I sat down in one of the chairs at the table and opened the card.

_Babe,_

_Have a nice trip. I am going offline for a bit, so you won't be able to reach me. _

_Check in with Tank if you can't get in touch with me._

_R_

_PS. Look in the envelope again._

I was shocked. It was nice of Ranger to tell me he was going off line, but it made me nervous as usual. A million terrible situations flooded my mind, but I pushed them all aside and picked up the envelope. I noticed for the first time that there was something other than the card in it. I turned the contents out onto the table.

It was a charm bracelet. A gold chain with five charms. A diamond encrusted S, for Stephanie I assumed, a similar sapphire encrusted B, I was guessing for Babe, an onyx Batman symbol, a golden lasso, and the Wonder Woman symbol, two golden Ws. I put it on and sat staring at it. It was the absolutely most beautiful gift anyone had ever gotten me. The Batman symbol spun around and I noticed an engraving on the back. _RCM._ Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Tears welled up in my eyes, but my phone rang before they could fall.

"Hello?"

"Girl, where the hell are you? You skinny white butt better not still be in bed!"

"Don't worry Lula, I am up. I took the day off to pack. I'm going out of town for a while."

"You're going away with Batman ain't ya? And you weren't going to tell me!"

I sighed over the phone. That was going to be all over the burg in no time. "Actually, I am going to Maine with Lester. We both needed the break, and I need the time to sort out my life. Now that Joe and I are over, I need some space." It wasn't anything better for my mother to hear, but at least it was the truth.

"Alright, girl, but I want details of everything that goes on while I am gone, and I mean EVERYTHING!"

I laughed. "Okay, but nothing too exciting is going to happen. I have to go pack. I'll talk to you and Connie when I get back. Bye Lula."

I hung up and stared at the bracelet again. With a sigh, I got up and hauled my suitcase out of the closet and started filling it.

An hour later, I had everything I would need in my case. I was standing at the jewelry box on my dresser, contemplating leaving the bracelet here. Crazies regularly broke into my apartment and I didn't want it to get stolen or blown up, so I took it off, laid it in a spare necklace box, and placed it in my case. I decided I wouldn't wear it while I was away, but that it would be nice to have it there. Looking at the clock, I knew it was time for dinner. Wow, packing took longer than I thought. I called Pino's, had a pizza delivered, popped GhostBusters into the DVD player, and settled in for the night.

I woke up to a knock on the door. I rolled over on the couch and tried to use the force to open the door, but when that didn't work, I got up and stumbled to the door. I looked out the peephole and saw Lester standing there, wearing the ugliest shirt I had ever seen. It was green with some kind of giant orange flower on it. It was a Hawaiian shirt, if Hawaii was in Hell.

I opened the door. "I am not going anywhere with you if that is what you are wearing."

He looked at the ground sheepishly. "Bobby found out that we were going away, and as some kind of cruel joke, he took all my clothes and left me with this. I didn't want to beat him up, so I figured I would just buy new stuff when we got there. And speaking of getting there, why aren't you ready?"

"I was sleeping. It is an ungodly hour." He showed me his watch. 10:30 AM. "Okay, fine, I will be 20 minutes. Make yourself comfortable." I wandered into the bathroom and got ready.

Forty-five minutes later, Lester and I were climbing into his personal car. It was a cherry red, 1985 mustang convertible. He said he fully restored it himself and I was more than a little impressed. We stopped at the Tasty Pastry, and before I knew it, we were on our way to Maine.

_Okay, I have now gotten all the fluffy beginning stuff out of the way, and the meat of this story can start…I will update faster I promise!!_


	4. Chapter 4

It took a little over seven hours to get to Biddeford, Maine. I slept through a good portion of the drive, but the part I was awake for, the scenery was beautiful. We drove straight up the coast, stopping a couple of times to stretch our legs and grab some food at roadside stands. By the time we got to Lester's house, the sky was stained with pink and gold clouds, and I was ready to fall into bed.

"Well, Beautiful, here we are." Lester grabbed our bags out of the trunk and nudged me towards the front door. The driveway was gravel, but the closer we got to the house, the sandier it got. The house backed onto the beach.

"Lester, I have died and gone to heaven. This place is amazing." We had gotten inside, and my mouth was hanging open. The whole bottom floor was one big room. Glossy hardwood floors ran from the foyer, through the living area straight ahead and the kitchen to the right. The entire back wall was glass, stretching up to the second floor. A loft sat at the top of the staircase, where I assumed there was a bedroom. French doors opened out onto a deck where I could see the ocean.

Lester climbed up the stair case, with me close at his heels. The loft was a bedroom alright. Matching king sized beds were at either end of the space, with a dresser and closet in the middle. A door led to what I assumed was a bathroom. The ceiling was high and vaulted, with strategically placed skylights. The whole place was magical.

My suitcase was sitting at the bottom of my bed, and Lester was already unpacking. I jumped up on his back, hugging him around the neck and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Lester, this is perfect. It's exactly what I needed. Thanks so much."

I felt laughter rumble through his body before I was swung around and tossed onto my bed. "Beautiful, you know that I would do anything to help you. Plus, the vacation will be nice, and if I get to see you in a skimpy bathing suit, well then, my life will just be better."

I shot him a glare and threw a pillow at him for good measure. He caught it, of course, and flopped down on the bed beside me. "In all seriousness Steph, I am here for you. Whatever you need, I'm your go to guy." I flipped onto my side and looked at him.

"Thanks Les. It really means a lot. I feel like I am so lost right now. I need to get my head on straight." I curled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around me, pressing a kiss into my hair. It was nice to have someone I could hug without there being any weird sexual tension. I was comfortable and warm, and I felt myself drifting off into a blissful sleep.

I woke up sometime in the early hours of the morning. The sky was just starting turn to the light gray of the pre-dawn, and I felt better rested than I had in months. Lester was passed out on my bed, so I swung my legs off the bed and padded to the bathroom. I flicked the light on and looked around. The bathroom had a huge window that looked over the side of the property. Beach grasses were waving in the gentle breeze, leaning over the low fence that looked worn, like it had been there forever. The shower was glass, white marble covering the walls. A towel warmer hung on the wall above the toilet, and the vanity was white marble with two frosted-glass bowl sinks, each with an individual mirror. I took care of the necessary business, washed my hands and crept back into the bedroom.

I dug my cell phone out of my bag and wandered downstairs. Grabbing the throw off the back of the couch, I wrapped myself up and settled on one of the Adirondack chairs that faced the water. I looked at the time on my phone. It was a little before six. Staring out over the water, I dialled Rangers number, if for no other reason but to hear his voice. I was taken aback when he answered with a "Babe."

"Ranger, I thought you were going to be 'in the wind' and would be out of touch." Great. Now I had to explain that I called just to hear his voice on the outgoing message of his voicemail box.

"Departure got pushed back to this afternoon. If you thought I wouldn't answer, why did you call?" I could hear the smile in his voice. He knew exactly why I called. Stupid ESP.

"You know exactly why I called." I hitched my chin up, even though he couldn't see it. "Besides, I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Fair enough. Are you settled in okay? Is Lester taking care of you?" His voice was laced with the feeling that if I said no, Lester would get his ass kicked.

"Everything is fine. The house is great, the beach is beautiful. I think that this will be really good for me. It'll give me a change to figure out who I am again. I feel like I've lost myself." I was picking at the blanket, pulling off bits of non-existent lint. It was hard to admit out loud how small I felt.

"Babe, you are the strongest person I know. You will figure it out and come back better than ever. Figure out who you are, and who you want to be, as long as you don't lose the girl I love." I was silent for a moment, waiting for the inevitable qualifier. It never came.

"That's it? End of sentence?"

"Babe." We were both silent for a long time. Ranger eventually broke the silence. "Stephanie, I don't want to pressure you at all, but I think that you should have all the information about...our situation before you make any decisions." There was another long pause. Ranger seemed to be collecting himself, and I just didn't know what to say.

"For the past six years, I've been doing highly classified missions for the government. I was pulled from the Rangers to become part of a task force so secret that it doesn't even have a name. Whenever I got the call to leave, I had to drop my life and go. Since I met you, I've told you whenever I had to leave, but even that could have gotten me in a whole lot of trouble. When I got the call yesterday, I was told that after this mission, it would be time to re-up my contract. I declined." He stopped talking. I was still dumbfounded.

I heard his deep breath and sharp exhale, and I pictured him running a hand through his hair. "Regardless of what you decide, I want to be in your life. If you want a romantic relationship, I will be ready and waiting as soon as we both get back to Trenton. If you want to go in another direction, I will still be here. You are, hands down, my best friend and for the record, I do love you. No qualifiers, end of sentence."

I finally found my voice. "No more missions?"

Ranger chuckled. "No more missions. I'll be gone for about a month this time, then a formal, albeit widely unacknowledged, discharge ceremony, and then I am home for good."

I blew out a breath. "Okay. I know how hard it is for you to open up about things sometimes, and I know how risky it is for you to talk about your government jobs. Thank you for trusting me."

I heard a soft beeping from Ranger's end of the call. "Babe, I have to go. I need to talk to Tank before I leave, and I was hoping to stop in at my parent's house on the way to the airport. Make sure to check in with Tank while I am gone. I'll try and get in touch if I can."

"Thank you. For everything. You really are a superhero, if only to me." I smiled. "Try not to get shot."

I felt him smile back. "Try not to go too crazy." He paused. "But don't come back too sane. I like you comfortably nutty."

I laughed out loud at that one, but sobered quickly. "Come back safe Batman."

"Babe." With that, he was gone. I shuddered out a sigh and cuddled lower into the blanket to watch the sunrise...

The next time I woke up, Lester was nudging my leg with his foot. I struggled my eyes open and gratefully accepted the coffee mug he was holding out. He placed his own mug on the wooden table, and settled into the other chair.

"Did you talk to Ranger?" I nodded. "I figured as much. He called me to tell me that if anything happened to you while he was gone, I could kiss my job, and my balls, goodbye." A grin spread across my face, matching the one Lester was already sporting.

I noticed that Lester was dressed in swim trunks and a tank top. I took a gulp of my coffee then zipped inside to toss on one of the swimsuits I brought. It was a bright orange tank top/boy short combo. I tied a yellow sarong around my waist, shoved my feet into my flip flops and wandered back outside. Once settled back into my chair, I turned to Lester, who was basking in the mid-morning sunshine.

"So, Mr. Maine, what are we doing today?"

"Steph, today we are doing something that neither of us have done in a while." He stretched his arms above his head before settling his hands on his stomach. Looking over at me, a lazy grin spread across his face. On a sigh he finished. "Absolutely nothing."

_A/N: So I know that this has taken...jeez a ridiculous amount of time to get here. But I hope it is worth it a little bit. I hate when stories don't get finished, so I promise that I will finish this one. Reviews are great. Thanks for reading._


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